title: Prevalence and titre of ABO haemolysin antibodies in pregnant Nigerian women.
abstract: The prevalence and titre of anti-A and anti-B haemolysin antibodies was determined in pregnant and non-pregnant women in a Nigerian community. The results show that alpha haemolysin occurs less frequently than beta-haemolysin in both pregnant and non-pregnant subjects. However, the prevalence of alpha haemolysin was significantly higher in pregnant subjects than in the non-pregnant ones. Surprisingly, the prevalence of haemolysin was significantly lower among the pregnant group than the non-pregnant group. These findings seem to suggest that the foetus probably plays a dual role in alpha and beta-haemolysin production--it enhances the production of alpha-haemolysin while suppressing that of beta-haemolysin. These findings offer explanations for the usually observed low frequency of occurrence of haemolytic disease of the newborn due to ABO incompatibility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology & Blood Transfusion, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Nigeria.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Usanga
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Akwiwu
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D001787:Blood Group Incompatibility / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D004899:Erythroblastosis, Fetal / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins